As many as 629 billion VND will be planned for a programme to stamp outprostitution at any form and minimise its impacts on social life in2011-2015.

The figure was released at a conferenceheld by the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs in HaLong city, the northern province of Quang Ninh on June 28, whichsaw the attendance of Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong.

The money will come from State and local budgets as well as bemobilised from domestic and foreign organisations and society.

Participants agreed that the programme will focus on reviewing,amending and supplementing legal documents on prostitution prevention,speeding up dissemination and education work, and strengthening theexamination, inspection and elimination of prostitution hotspots.

The programme will set up community models to encourage former sexworkers to take part in the fight against HIV/AIDS and reintegrate intothe community; build communes, wards and towns free from prostitution;and improve the capacity of those in charge of prostitution prevention.

Deputy PM Trong, who is also Chairman of theNational Committee for AIDS, Drugs and Prostitution Control andPrevention, stressed that preventing and combating prostitution willcontribute to warding off the century disease of HIV/AIDS and promotingsocio-economic development.

“It is necessary torenew dissemination work and raise public awareness of prostitutionprevention,” he said, adding that prevention measures should be combinedwith provision of treatment and vocational training for former sexworkers to enable them to reintegrate into the community./.